It was funny how her den had been her whole world. It was all she had ever known and she was already so eager to push the boundaries and fund out what lay beyond the corners of her little space.  Her mother always caught on to quickly, her wobbly little steps taken on overly large paws in a comically dis-proportioned body just weren't subtle enough and she was always ushered back to the nest and her sisters warm side.

Now she felt like she knew too much, an explosion to her senses. First she discovered the meaning of cold, as the spray from her fathers movements had tickled into her fur, made worse by the chill wind of the nightly hour. It took what felt like a life time for her father to take her to the safety of this new land before she was licked dry by her mother and pushed into the warmth of her

little family, mother, father, and sister all huddled so close against her she no longer knew who's fur was whose.
That had been a day ago, now, now she was warm and over the shock of it all, now she was bored. She wanted to understand the funny green substance she had encountered on the prairie. It was everywhere! Everything was greener here, away from the sandy den she had known. Everyone was busy, adjusting and talking and mingling. Now, she could escape unseen. She rose to her feet, her huge paws betraying her as she tripped over them, before making her escape an agonizingly slow one. First one step, then another, then another, that was the way to progress she realized. Using this method she was able to actually make a difference, she was doing it! She was sneaking away from camp under the eyes of so many wolves!

There was her whole entire family around her, the wolves she had smelled and heard in the past but never really seen in the light of day. The splash of colour was hypnotising and it was a struggle not to get distracted from her real mission.

Seraphiel

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Slowly the vixen was getting back into her old sleep cycle, her precious moon was slowly returning to the sky and she had a reason to stay up now, which meant at this time of day she was sleeping. She was reluctant to build a new den here, certain they would all just move back to the big communal cave once the water level had dropped again, so Selini was napping in the tall grasses.

The sounds and smell of her family around her did nothing to deter her sleep instead lulling her into a sense of peace and security that allowed an easy if not deep sleep.

No it was the sound of indelicate, tromping that woke her. Lids lifted slowly, starlight gaze slowly focusing in on a small shape moving through the grass. The way the pup moved it seemed she was trying to sneak away and a mischievous grin split across the vixen’s face. Keeping her head on her paws she watched the child for a moment. “And where do you think you’re going?” She summoned the most disapproving tone she could muster, though her expression was light. She wanted the child’s attention but had no real intention of getting her into trouble.

She was doing it! She was making her escape. She had to concentrate on her paws so much to do walking in a straight line let alone in silence. She wouldn't notice the form lying in the grass not even when she raised her head. It was the voice that startled her and she froze with one paw in the air and she balanced like that for an entire moment before she toppled over with a squeak. Lying in a disgruntled heap in the grass she looked up at selini with a glare as through she blamed the other for her predicament. Of course, a moment later she questioned the wisdom of growling at someone with the power to get her into trouble. Her face morphed and tried to hold a smile, but her frown wasn't entirely gone and she ended up pulling funny faces as she struggled to hide her emotions.

With exasperation she struggled to her paws, and the effort of taming her feet distracted her enough to wipe the frown off her features. By the time she looked up at her auntie again she managed a smile. "I was..." she paused, sneaking away from camp want the right answer here. "I was... gathering... supplies... I wanted to help out. Did I wake you?" She asked in a cunning attempt to distract the other wolf from her presence on the fringes of their camp.

The child froze before quickly losing her balance and tumbling over with a squeal and Selini found herself chuckling. The girl would growl at her and the laugh caught in her throat for a moment and she fixed the pup with an incredulous look, an eyebrow quirked upwards. The laughter would return though as her niece fought to control her expressions, her tiny face contorting in amusing ways. Finally Seraphiel would rise to her paws and that seemed to get her focus back.

The vixen would fix the child with an amused look as excuses tumbled from tiny jaws. “Supplies eh?” She chuckled. “I’ll give you points for creativity kid, I don’t think I ever used that one when I was caught trying to sneak out to explore.” She eyed the pup for a moment and titled her head so that it was resting sideways on her paws. “Here’s a tip; adults are almost always willing to believe you’re looking for a sibling to go play. You’re still too young to be expected to help out so don’t use excuses that suggest you have a job to do. Your job is to grow up and learn through games right now, use that to your advantage.”

A yawn forced her jaws apart. The vixen fixed her niece with yellow gaze and spoke once more. “As for waking me up… That tends to happen when someone is lacking in proper stealth techniques.” If she currently wasn’t on probation she might have even been tempted to teach the girl proper sneaking but she was on thin ice as it was.

It wouldn't come as a surprise when her Auntie laughed at her predicament. People seemed to find the young girls struggles far too amusing for their own good, or so she believed. She would train everyone soon enough that she was something to admire, not to find amusement in. of course, she forgot all about that commitment a moment later when her excuse fell far too short, and the vixen before her cut right through to the truth. Ray sighed softly, already imaging being escorted back to the group and the hours of boredom that would follow.

Ray's expression widened in surprise when Selini continued to conversationally point out the holes in her tale, and to offer her better excuses. Despite herself, she began to listen intently, taking it all in with wide, curious eyes. “That's what I meant to say, I'm looking for Roar, she's out playing and I need to go find her” Ray explained, with the wide and innocent eyes of a pup.

Of course, that naive and spaced expression didn't sit naturally on her face and it was blinked away the moment something else caught her attention. She tilted her head, studying Selini curiously. Already this woman had given her some useful tips, would she go a step further? “Are you suppose to be an expert at 'proper stealth' then?” she wondered, posing at as a challenge.

Seraphiel

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Her niece had moxie; she admired that even if it wasn’t going to work in the child’s favor.  Selini quirked an eyebrow as the girl fell back on the very excuse she had just suggested. “Nice try kid, but I’ve already called your bluff. Not to mention you can’t use my own excuse against me.” Seraphiel was pretty quick witted for a pup and even that the vixen had to admire, even if her cover story was thinner than a butterfly’s wings and the expression she wore was very ill fitting.

But her niece seemed to have the attention span of an average pup her age and as the challenge tumbled from her tiny lips Selini couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across her face. The woman thought for a moment then shook her head. “Not you lucky day to today is it? Sorry I’m already in hot water with your old man I’m not eager to upset him anymore.”

She thought for a moment longer. “Tell you what though, instead of dragging you back to your den I’ll act as your cover. You can say you just wanted to visit your aunt Selini. Catch is you’ve got to actually visit.”

Ray pouted at her Auntie's logic. She had thought it was a good excuse! But maybe the woman was right, she couldn't give it so quickly after her first attempt. She sighed, still holding out hope for a lesson in stealth – but that was just as quickly rebuffed. “Why are you in hot water with an old man?” she wanted to know, not at all understanding the reference. Her expression zoned in on Selini, and she had called Ray's excuse terrible! She didn't understand at all what this had to do with teaching (or lack there of) how to stalk.

Then Selini would offer a compromise that she could live with, and she beamed at her eagerly. “Okay!” she agreed. Spending time with her Auntie rather then hanging around the group, bored, sounded like a great alternative.

Seraphiel

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